Five Times Too Many
by sephirothflame
Summary: Five times Gabriel met a Winchester and kept his identity to himself, and the one time he didn't.


Title: Five Times Too Many  
Author: _sephirothflame_  
Rating: PG-13  
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Gabriel, Samuel Campbell, Mary Winchester, John Winchester, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, (John/Mary)  
Warning(s): Some fluff, mildly AU, language, unBETA'd  
Spoiler(s): Through 5.08, "_Changing Channels_" if nothing else.  
Prompt(s): **catyuy** wanted "_The Five Times Gabriel aka ArchAngel aka Messenger of God aka Loki aka The Trickster didn't reveal himself to a Winchester and the one time he did. This includes Mary and John. If you want it can include Mary's parents as well._"  
Word Count: Approx. 2,750  
Rants: So it's a gen fic, instead of Sam/Gabriel but... IDEK. No no one seems to be activly writing for the Kink Meme and I feel kind of bad about that. Well, that and I'm hoping Kink Meme karma will get my prompt filled. 3  
Summary: Five times Gabriel met a Winchester and kept his identity to himself, and the one time he didn't.  
Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.

* * *

As much as people seemed to assume otherwise, Gabriel didn't really have a problem with hunters. Sure they tended to interrupt his righteous retribution against the scumbags of the Earth and occasionally one would cotton on and attempt to stake him, but he usually let it slide (unless they deserved to be smote). As far as Gabriel was concerned, ganking evil supernatural annoyances was good work in his book.

That isn't to say he doesn't ever feel the need to smite hunters though. Specifically, one Samuel Campbell.

"I don't know what you tell you," Gabriel told the aggravating hunter, using a broom handle as a prop as he leaned against it. "I'm not one for petty gossip - " Okay, so he totally was, but that wasn't the point " - but the way I understand it, Mr. Walsh, the guy that killed himself? He's been paying off a number of secretaries and assistants that he's been sleeping with. _Very_ suspicious, if you ask me."

Samuel grunted in reply, before stroking his chin in thought. "Any of these girls still around?" He asked, and Gabriel shrugged. "I need proof of the claims." Which was a total blatant lie, but Gabriel was willing to let it slide. No way was Samuel Campbell an insurance investigator.

"The thing is," Gabriel drawled out, before checking his watch in feigned impatience. "None of the _girls_ are still around." He was starting to get bored with the questioning and he was debating the pros and cons of just leaving or locking the hunter in a closet somewhere. Probably best he didn't, but the thought did have some appeal.

"Why's that?" Samuel asked. He was getting annoyed with Gabriel, that much was obvious, and the feeling was definitely mutual. Gabriel was starting to think Samuel wasn't much of a hunter – too demanding in his questioning, half-cocked lies and he was oozing impatience.

"Because Mr. Walsh only slept with his male employees," Gabriel replied with a lazy grin. Samuel took a moment to look disgusted before he composed himself. "I really should be getting back to work. Floors won't sweep themselves."

"Just one more question," Samuel said, grabbing Gabriel's arm as he moved away. "Is there anyone else who might have been witness to the incident?"

Annoyance flashed through him, but Gabriel quelled the urge to smite Samuel as he pulled away from the other man's grip. "Don't think so," He replied, shrugging. "It was pretty late and no one wants to stick around after hours. This place is bad enough during the day."

"Right," Samuel replied, sighing. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking thoughtful. "Thank you." He said gruffly.

"Whatever," Gabriel replied, before disappearing down the hall.

He didn't smite Samuel Campbell that night, though he was sorely tempted to. The man was just so _aggravating_ and Gabriel wasn't even sure if he could begin to explain _why_. He hung around for a while, invisible to the human eye, and watched Samuel work. Or at least, he tried to. Samuel Campbell was the most boring hunter _ever_ and Gabriel would know. He's been around since forever and he's had the opportunity to smite more than a few.

* * *

"Hey," someone said, tugging on the back of Gabriel's jacket. "Did you happen to see a guy go past? Red hair, blue eyes, wearing an ugly brown jacket?" It's a girl, Gabriel noticed, and she would be ridiculously good looking in a few years time.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?" Gabriel countered, sidestepping the girl's reach and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I'm thirteen," the girl snapped, "I can take care of myself. So did you see the guy or not?"

"Does it matter?" Gabriel asked, shrugging. Go figure the one time he decided to take a break and hit up Miami that he gets pestered by hunters. The girl might not be a full fledged hunter, not yet, but she would one day. He could tell, just by looking at her.

"He's my uncle," The girl replied smoothly. "He's supposed to be watching me, but we got separated on the boardwalk." She was lying and it was as obvious as the sun, but what the hell, Gabriel's in a good mood. He loved boardwalks – popcorn, soda, corn dogs, cotton candy and cute overpriced overstuffed plush dolls.

"He went that way," Gabriel said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but don't get kidnapped. People have been going missing these last few days."

The girl glared at him, a look that clearly said _I know that_ before taking off. She didn't even say 'thanks' Gabriel noted. He watched her go in contemplative silence, before shrugging and turning his attention back to the boardwalk. Maybe he should fuck with the vendors. That was always amusing, and it made the children happy.

* * *

Gabriel recognized her the moment she walked into the bar he was currently bar keeping for. He liked to get jobs and settle into towns and cities for a while. It gave him something to do when he wasn't currently fucking with people's heads. Besides, being a bar tender was the best way to get information out of people. Get anyone drunk enough and they'd talk.

"What can I get you?" Gabriel asked, partly because it was his job and party because he wanted to see what she was doing around. It wasn't very often Gabriel ran into the same person twice in a lifetime. It was a big world, and people needed smote all over the planet.

"Just a Coke," She replied, slipping onto a bar stool and flashing him a dazzling smile. He was right about thinking she'd grow up to be beautiful. "I'm waiting for someone."

"Boyfriend?" Gabriel asked, and the girl laughed, shaking her head. He poured her a can of Coke and slid it across the bar.

"Thanks," She said, smiling. "And no. My dad. We're in town for business. I'm Mary, by the way."

"A family business?" Gabriel asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Mary nodded, then shrugged. "He's a mechanic. A damn good one. Sometimes the more eccentric of his clients ask him to come into town to do work instead of bringing it to us. It pays better, so really no room to complain."

"Good for you, then," Gabriel replied and Mary smiled. She was staring at him pointedly, probably waiting for him to introduce himself but Gabriel could care less for niceties. He wondered briefly if Mary was hunting him. Narwhals showing up in Cincinnati to kill people tended to draw attention.

"So, you hear about that guy that died in the water fountain?" Mary asked, her tone blasé, and yeah, she was totally there to gank him. "Witnesses said a baby narwhal popped out of it and killed him? Can you believe the drugs people are taking?"

"Ohio is a pretty crazy place," Gabriel replied, grinning lewdly at her. Mary laughed, shaking her head, and Gabriel wondered if she was worth the effort of seducing. He knew he probably shouldn't – if she was a hunter, her father probably was too, and Gabriel would prefer not to get shot or stabbed or set fire to (Humans. Seriously.) - but then again, Gabriel always had enjoyed doing things he wasn't supposed to.

Gabriel's decision was made for him when Samuel Campbell walked through the door and Gabriel fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course it would be his luck that that douche bag would be Mary's father. Nothing was ever allowed to go his way.

"I've got to get something out of the back," Gabriel told Mary, and she nodded. "The Coke is on the house."

It wasn't that he was afraid of Samuel – he could take the man out, no problem. He just wasn't in the mood to put forth an actual effort into either defending himself or smiting at the moment. Too many years as a Pagan God had made him go soft, he thought. Or maybe it was too many years as an Angel of the Lord? It was hard to say.

Gabriel slipped out of the back room and into the cold Cincinnati night, humming as he did so. He wondered briefly what the odds were of meeting both Mary and Samuel again, but he could smell pizza on the air, and that interested him far more than any humans ever would.

* * *

Gabriel recognized John Winchester the moment he laid eyes on him. Well, scratch that. He recognized _what_ (or is it _who?_) John Winchester was. His body was practically _screaming_ MEPICKMEMICHAELIMRIGHTHERE. Being the dutiful brother that Gabriel was – well, dutiful might be stretching it at this point in time – Gabriel figured he might as well stop by and say 'hi'.

And by stop by and say 'hi', Gabriel meant use his Archangel/Trickster/Pagan-God Mojo to give John Winchester a flat tire and then stick around and offer to help/see what happened. He briefly considered blowing the Impala up or maybe sticking howler monkeys in the backseat, but he really didn't want to draw attention to himself. The guys Upstairs might want him dead or something and that would just ruin his day.

"Goddamnit," John cursed, running his hands through his hair. "Who the hell goes around slashing other people's tires?"

"You okay?" Gabriel asked, sauntering over to John, hands shoved in his pockets. John looked up, startled, and flashed him a tired smile.

"Yeah, sort of only not really," John replied, standing up. He was practically vibrating out of his skin. "Someone slashed my tire and my wife's at the hospital right now _having a baby_."

Oh. Well. That was totally not Gabriel's fault. "Need a hand?" Gabriel offered. Not that he knew anything about changing tires on a car, but he figured he might as well offer. Nothing better to do at the moment and all.

"I got it," John said, shrugging. "I'm a mechanic. I do this sort of thing all the time. It's just crappy timing is all." He moved to the trunk and Gabriel watched him impassively, as John continued to talk, nervous and excited.

"I'm going to guess it's your first kid?" Gabriel asked and John grinned, nodding. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl," John replied. He swapped the tire with the ease and familiarity of someone who had done it a million times before. Gabriel would never be able to live the sort of life where he had to do the same thing everyday. Way too mundane. "I think Mary wants to name her Deana."

Something about that seemed familiar, but Gabriel ignored the feeling. He's met hundreds of girls named Mary, maybe thousands – some were more fun than others. John finished swapping the tires and lugged the slashed one to the trunk before wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I'm John, by the way," he said, but when he turned to face Gabriel, the Archangel was gone with nothing more than the sound of wings to signal his departure. "Huh."

* * *

The final time Gabriel saw Mary, formally Campbell now Winchester, was a few months before she died. She was ridiculously pregnant, and Gabriel can't help but hate John Winchester a little for ruining her figure. Mary used to be hot – now, not so much. Oh, she was still pretty, Gabriel couldn't deny it, but it wasn't the same.

They were picnicing in a park when Gabriel found them. He hadn't been looking for them, per se, but he wasn't surprised when he noticed them. The family was a beacon for the supernatural. John and Mary were both relaxing on a cliched red checkered blanket and their son had stumbled off chasing a duck. Since neither of his parents had noticed, Gabriel took it upon himself to make sure the kid was okay.

It was really a good thing he did, too, because the duck flitted into the pond and quacked happily. The littlest Winchester attempted to mimic the sound, laughing gleefully as he did so. He fell to his knees and reached as far as he could into the pond to touch the duck and because the universe hates when parents don't pay attention to their children, he slipped into the pond with a loud splash.

Sighing heavily, Gabriel fetched the child from the pond and held him at arms length, watching him blink in confusion. "If you were a girl like your father thought you were going to be, I bet you wouldn't be so stupid," Gabriel said. A moment's hesitation passed over Dean's face before he burst into tears.

"Dean!" John Winchester shouted, and he was by Gabriel's side in an instant, pulling the small child into his arms. "Jesus Christ, Dean, what were you thinking?"

"Wanted the ducky," Dean said between sobs, clutching at his father pathetically. Mary was at their side a moment later, and she rubbed Dean's back soothingly. "Want ducky!"

"Thank you," John said, looking at Gabriel, and the Archangel shrugged his shoulders impassively. "I can't – I don't – just _thank you_."

"Do I know you?" Mary asked, brow furrowed in confusion as she stared at Gabriel. A half smirk formed on his lips, and he shrugged his shoulders again."You should probably get the kid a leash," Gabriel offered before turning on his heels and walking away. John and Mary called after him, barely to be heard over Dean's sobs, but Gabriel ignored them. He had better things to do than get friendly with his brother's vessel and the vessel's family.

And if later that night, Mary Winchester found a fluffy duck plush doll while tidying Dean's room, well, that had nothing to do with Gabriel at all, _honestly_.

* * *

"I can't get away from you guys, can I?" Gabriel asked, peering down at the sobbing Winchester at his feet. He wasn't sure if he was glad or not that it wasn't Dean – that boy had a pair of lungs on him – but this one was snotty and pathetic looking with floppy hair and he clung to Gabriel's pantleg like there was no tomorrow.

"Please?" He asked between sobs, and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

Prying himself free from the kid's grip, Gabriel knelt down to be eye level with him. "If you want me to help you find your dad and brother, you've got to stop crying for a minute," He sighed, and the kid nodded his head and wiped his eyes. "What's your name?"

"Sammy," he said, and Gabriel smiled wryly. Sam Winchester, son of Mary Winchester, daughter of Samuel Campbell. It was almost cute, in a pathetic way. He'd bet dollars to doughnuts one of the boys would name their daughter Mary. He'd heard about her death. It was a tragedy.

"Okay, Sammy," Gabriel said, ruffling Sam's hair affectionately. "We're going to find your dad and brother now." He debated just snapping himself rid of the little Winchester – he no doubt would grow up to make Gabriel's life annoying, just like his mom had – when Sam started crying again.

"_How_? They're going to be long gone by now! In another state and _everything_!" He wailed, throwing his arms around Gabriel's neck and sobbing pathetically into his shirt. "Dean's always saying they'll leave me behind! He's so _mean_."

Gabriel made a disgusted sound and tried to pull himself free from Sam's death grip. "For crying out loud, Sammy, stop crying already," He huffed, and Sam blinked up at him through watery hazel eyes. "We're going to find them. You want to know why?"

"Why?" Sam asked meekly, and Gabriel snapped a handkerchief into existence to wipe Sam's face with. Sam's eyes went wide but he let Gabriel dry his cheeks and wipe the snot dribbling from his nose, which was ridiculously disgusting and if Gabriel wasn't a sucker for crying children he never would have done it.

"Because I'm Gabriel," He said simply, "and I'm an angel."


End file.
